Why does my baby cry?

I've often pondered why my DS cries. When he was newly born, I swear he cried just to see me and my DH freak out. Oh my God, what's wrong.. Is he hurt? Did I do something wrong? I was convinced that somehow I was harming him, but I was wrong.

Nowadays it seems that I can instantly tell why he is crying. It's usually only a couple of things - and let's face it, I'd cry to if I could get away with it: Hunger, Tired, Overstimulated, and Constipated.

Let's start with hunger... a very basic need for us all. My little man has recently begun to grab the bottle and shove it anywhere near his mouth. I think it's cute. He's trying to be independent, but doesn't yet have the whole "hold the bottle with two hands by myself" thing down yet. Please note -- that if the wee one wakes from a nap or a restful night's sleep, that bottle better be ready and waiting! Otherwise - he will scream bloody murder. Most of the time I just giggle at him - course that makes him madder!

Ok - we all get cranky when we are tired. I don't care if you are 5 months or 50 years old, no one likes to be tired. However, with a little one, it's a little different. When babies get tired they will usually give you some warning signs like rubbing eyes, or ears, or yawning (duh), but sometimes we grown ups miss these signs and the sweet cherubic smile becomes a demonic howl. Usually, the best thing to do is hold them close to you and just move (i.e. rock, sway, any kind of walking around). This usually works, but not always.

On to overstimulated... Most people (read non parents) don't realize that babies can get overstimulated quite quickly in some situations. Usually, this happens when a baby is around new people, sounds, and environments. Case in point -- Dear Brother and Sister-in-Law agreed to babysit DS so that mommy and daddy could go on a date. I know, imagine it! When DS was dropped off to auntie and uncle he was mostly content, but still rather peeved that we had been in the car (and car seat) most of the day. So hubby and I leave bouncing baby boy in a house that he had never been to and with people he'd never seen before. Now I should have prefaced the story to say that my brother told me the night before that I was dropping C off at his friends house who was having a BBQ and that they would bring C over to their house later in the afternoon. I didn't think this was a good idea, but I had no choice as we already had purchased concert tickets and I had no other babysitter at the time. This may not end well I thought to myself.

So in true overstimulated baby land fashion - the little man wailed for about 3 hours. By the time we returned to pick C up, both Aunt and Uncle were completely zonked on the couch. I looked around and finally found little C slouched in his carrier car seat sans clothes (only wearing a diaper) with a large blanket draped over the car seat. Aunt and Uncle just kept muttering.... "he wouldn't stop crying, he wouldn't stop crying." I think they have recovered and may entertain the idea of babysitting again, but hopefully it will only take place in one location and will be in surroundings that he knows.

This leads me to the last topic: constipation. This is often a source of parental woe with a newborn. Your life revolves around poo: when, where, how much, consistency (yes, I just wrote that). So when your little darling has a problem with the poo - it becomes your life's work to get him or her to go "numero dos." While trying to figure out what was agitating my dear son's system, we were faced with some pretty heinous evenings that included the "rocket" (aka glycerin suppository) to facilitate a happy ending. Yes, I know it's gross, but sometimes you gotta do what it necessary to provide relief! Failure to provide relief leads to to a VERY unhappy baby.

So all in all, we can usually figure out why the wee man is crying and resolve the matter quickly. I often laugh to myself and look back on the months that have passed since he was born. We were so inept initially - I know it's a test and I think we've passed so far. We've got a long way to go, but it sure is going fast!

5 Month Update

Today, the little man is 4.99 months old. He will officially turn 5 months old tomorrow at 9:54 pm. (Just to be precise).

We went to the Dr. for some more shots on Friday. I decided to space out the shots instead of doing them once every couple of months. This allows the little one to not be so overwhelmed with all of the shots that he has to have these days, but it also gives me some piece of mind - I get to see the Nurse Practicioner or the Dr. too! Being my usual over obsessed self, I'm worried about weight, height, health, poop, and his sensitive skin.

So the poop front I think has resolved itself. He's been on a new formula - Good Start Soy - for about 2 weeks and doing great. Did I mention that I'm feeding him the premixed liquid stuff and it's still cheaper than the hypo-allergenic powder that I was buying previously? I'm loving that! He's eating (and sometimes drinking) his prunes everyday and still enjoying them, so I can't complain.

We both came to an agreement that he just has sensitive skin with some eczema mixed in for good measure. Although the allergist is convinced that he's allergic to cats, my Dr. is not so sure. The kitties are still in kitty prison in the basement, but they may not have to stay there forever.

Everything else is good with him. He's 28 inches long and 19.6 pounds. Yes, you read that right - just shy of 20 pounds and he's just 5 months. At first I was worried that he was a little pudgy, but that's just it - he's not. He's already in 6-9 month clothing, but he's so tall that the 3-6 month clothes are too short. He's a big little guy :)

He currently enjoys rolling over, drooling, and putting everything in his mouth. Lately, he's been making these high pitched screams for what it seems like hours on end - usually resulting in him throwing up... oh the joys :)

We are going to Oma and Opa's house on Friday with Grandma Mary Beth. It should be a fun and hopefully relaxing weekend! Stay tuned for more!

MMMMM... Food

So the little man had his first taste of real food. His first meal consisted of mashed bananas. We then moved on to rice cereal, which proved disastrous, as it caused a massive stoppage of the lower GI. Ewwwwww.

We are off the rice for now - instead we are eating (and drinking) prunes. Your Spanish words for the day : cireula pasa (prunes)

He's got the "moving food from front to back" down and doesn't really spit it out - unless of course he doesn't want any more. We go to the Dr. on Friday for shots and a check up. I'm betting on the 20 pound mark for him - jeez!

Here are some amusing pictures of the "eating" process. Note the many different bibs used in the pictures! :)





















Here are some interaction shot with friends:

Ciaran Meet Tiernan (Age 1), Tiernan Meet Ciaran










Ciaran and Emily (5 months)

My Trip to the Beach

It's been a couple of days and I have recovered from my trip to the beach. It was relaxing and just what the whole family needed! We all piled in a car and headed across the Bay Bridge into Eastern Maryland. I had my first look at the Atlantic Ocean. And in 2 months, I get to see the Pacific Ocean, too!

Aunt Jaime carried me around for a while in the carrier - so it was a great break for mommy and daddy! :)

Here are some pics of me at the beach!